Two days ago, my wife Rochelle and I went to a wedding for our friends. Something magical always happens when we go to weddings. We begin to dream about our own wedding, now 13 years in the past.

It is as if we just got married yesterday. The emotions of that special day come flooding back into my consciousness, and I can still see every detail, like watching Rochelle walk down the aisle in her spectacular white wedding dress and the emotion of feeling awestruck at her beauty and her happiness, the spectacular service at the Saint Paul Cathedral, the cute ring bearer, stepping on Rochelle’s veil, the smiles and pride on people’s faces, cutting the huge wedding cake, the fun dancing on the dance floor with my wife and my mother and mother in law, the speech of my brother, the best man…..the Rolls Royce rental car for the getaway. The soft rain that fell upon our faces as we left the church and the feel and sound of rice falling upon us, as our friends celebrated our special day and our new life together.

Every time we go to a weddings we fall in love all over again…..at least I do. I feel so grateful to be married to my wife Rochelle and I marvel at how Jesus has blessed our life together! As a result of celebrating our friends’ wedding, we became closer to each other and more appreciative of our love for one another.

So weddings bless the couple getting married, as well as the friends who attend. None of this would have been possible if I was not sober and living the spiritual solution.

About The Author

Robert J. Allison lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his wife Rochelle Allison. Robert survived a 28-year battle with chemical dependency, including 13 chemical dependency treatment centers and homelessness.
He surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and began his new life of faith and contented sobriety. Robert has been blessed with 18 years of sobriety and with his new freedom he now is helping other addicts to find peace, faith and the priceless gift of sobriety.

I was with a friend today, and we were talking about how Jesus wants each of us to Love and to Forgive the people in our life.

Then I said, “Yes, because all of us are Children of God, regardless of our imperfections, our character flaws and our shortcomings. My friend said yes, that is exactly right.

One of my character defects is that I have a quick temper, and I can become frustrated easily with other people who are not behaving as I would like them to behave. It is usually about me not getting what I want, when I want it and how I want it. People just do not understand that I am the center of the universe and things should always go my way.

So when I am dealing with a difficult store clerk, or a government employee or a customer service agent at Comcast, I can remind myself that all of these people are just trying to do their job, and every one of them is a Child of God.

Ever since I got sober in 1998, I have been hiring men from the Fellowship Club, which is a halfway house for chemically dependent men and women. I graduated from Hazelden and this halfway house 18 years ago. This halfway house is part of the Hazelden Foundation treatment center.

I hire the men as part of my service work and to help the men out. I generally over pay them as part of my way to give back. I have been frustrated lately, because the men I hired seem to be so medicated, that they cannot concentrate on anything. The work is landscaping and there is an element of danger that requires concentration. In one back yard, there were two small dogs that always try to escape. I told the man helping me to make sure that he closes the latch on the gate because if the dogs get out, they will run away and they are very difficult to catch. I made a special point to repeat this instruction five times, and the man confirmed that he understood.

I had to leave the yard to get some supplies and when I approached the gate it was open. Luckily the dogs had not yet seen the opportunity and they were safe. I was not thinking too clearly, because I was upset and fearful about what the consequences would have been if the dogs had been hit by a car. I yelled at the man and said, “I told you five times to make sure to close the gate and here it is wide open, these dogs could have been killed on the road”.

I wish I would have had the spiritual strength and patience to keep my temper, but instead I reacted out of fear and anger. If I had of just reminded myself that this person is, “A Child of God”, before I lost my temper, the result would have been better for both of us.

This is just one example of many in my life where stopping myself and verbally saying the words, “This person is a Child of God”, will allow me to love, forgive and accept the person and not fill my spirit with negative energy like frustration, anger and resentment.

The last reminder, is that I too am A Child of God, and I must learn to be patient and kind and forgiving of myself.

When I was homeless in Denver, Colorado for one year, I finally had come to the end of the long road of addiction. I said a prayer that saved my life: “Jesus, please help me!”

Jesus did not judge me or say, “this man is too great a sinner, he is too far gone, I will have nothing to do with him”. Jesus loved me and He forgave me and He gave me a new life, an abundant life and an opportunity to help other people just like me. Jesus is the perfect example for all of us!

Peace and Blessings to you. I pray that you will help many other addicts to find serenity and sobriety.

About The Author

Robert J. Allison lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his wife Rochelle Allison. Robert survived a 28-year battle with chemical dependency, including 13 chemical dependency treatment centers and homelessness.
He surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and began his new life of faith and contented sobriety. Robert has been blessed with 18 years of sobriety and with his new freedom he now is helping other addicts to find peace, faith and the priceless gift of sobriety.

As my disease of addiction progressed through the years, I became increasingly destructive. My 28 years of active drug addiction is the story of tragic self-destruction. I was self-centered and full of fear – I used drugs to escape life and to drown my feelings. I hurt other people and I hurt myself.

More powerfully, Jesus has cleansed my soul and my mind and helped me to forgive myself and others and to let go of long standing resentments. I am gaining in spiritual strength each year and I am active in service work. I am better able to listen for God’s direction and to do what He wants me to do. In fact, it is God who inspired me to finish my book, so that my painand experience can bring strength and hope to the addict who still suffers.

I thank God for saving me time after time. I believe that He has work for me to do. Perhaps my past was meant to be just the way it was, in order to prepare me for a future of helping others. The other good news is that I never have to live that way again. Today, I have a choice, to live in isolation or to reach out to others and God for fellowship and peace of mind. An active addict who is completely dominated by the physical craving and the mental obsession to use chemicals, does not have a choice because he or she is being totally controlled by the disease. Now that I have my freedom from the bondage of addiction and the freedom of choice, I can now work toward becoming who God created me to be. God is showing me how my experience can help others.

Jesus has given me the strength, courage and faith to move out of this dark place and back into the light of sobriety.

Check out my published book, “Saved By the Prince of Peace–Dungeon To Sky.“My website is: http://www.dungeontosky.com You will find over 100 blogs on addiction and recovery, a media button that has a video of my telling my story and seven podcast recordings of radio interviews from stations across the country. The purpose of the book is to give Hope, Encouragement, Faith and Love to the addict who might think that he or she cannot recover. If I can recover after 13 treatment centers and an addictive journey that lasted 28 years and one year of homelessness, then any one can recover!

I wish you Peace, Love, Encouragement and Hope as you experience the freedom of sobriety.

About The Author

Robert J. Allison lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his wife Rochelle Allison. Robert survived a 28-year battle with chemical dependency, including 13 chemical dependency treatment centers and homelessness.
He surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and began his new life of faith and contented sobriety. Robert has been blessed with 18 years of sobriety and with his new freedom he now is helping other addicts to find peace, faith and the priceless gift of sobriety.

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About the Author

Robert J. Allison

"The Story of one man's terrifying journey from hell to heaven."

Robert J. Allison's book covers 28 years of an intense battle with chemical dependency, until at the end of his ropes, he completely surrendered and turned his life over to Jesus Christ. The result is a spectacular recovery and a passion for helping others to find peace and lasting sobriety. The purpose of this book is to give hope, encouragement, faith and love to the suffering addict, who might think that he or she cannot recover. Robert J. Allison lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his wife, Rochelle Allison. After surviving a battle with chemical dependency, including 13 chemical dependency treatment centers and homelessness; he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and began his new life of faith and contented sobriety. Robert has enjoyed 16 years of sobriety and with this new freedom, he now is helping other addicts to find peace, faith and the priceless gift of sobriety. Miracles can happen for you or your family member or your friend, just like they did for Robert J. Allison.